COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 15, 2020) – Sophomore guard Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) set a new career-high with a game-best 24 points as the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team snuck past Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saint Michael's College 73-70 at the Ross Sports Center on Saturday afternoon. Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) took a bounce pass from Falu Seck (Washington D.C.) and finished a left-handed reverse layup with 14 seconds remaining for the winning bucket.

The victory was the Ravens third in a row and lifted them to 15-8 (10-6 NE10) on the season while the Purple Knights drop to 7-16 (4-12 NE10) on the year.

Moore (10-of-19 FG, 52.6%) surpassed the 20-point mark for the first time in his career while nearly notching a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds and a team-best six assists. He was joined in double-figures by a pair of other Ravens. Seck finished with 14 points, four rebounds, and a block while sophomore forward Maxwell Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) added 11 points, on 4-of-8 (50%) from the field and 3-for-5 (60.0%) from long range. Senior guard Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) fell short of double-digits for the first time this season with just eight points but was key in other aspects grabbing six caroms, dishing a pair of assists and coming up with a clutch block late.

A trio of Purple Knights reached double digits. Kasai Brown scored 21 points on 4-of-11 (36.4%) from the field and 11-for-13 (84.6%) from the free-throw line while snatching nine rebounds. Jordan Guzman added 20 points and grabbed four steals and Eli DiGrande added 10 points.

The first half was a low scoring, back and forth affair. Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) connected on a three-pointer to open the scoring. Jontai Williams hit a triple to get Saint Michael's on the board just over two minutes in. The two squads split the next eight points scored before Fadojutimi made a short jumper and Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) finished a layup to put the Ravens ahead by four at 11-7.

The four-point advantage was the largest lead for either side in the first half. Guzman put Saint Michael's in the lead with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws. After a Brown free throw, Zegarowski tied the game with a tip-in off a missed layup by Seck to tie the game at 13 just over halfway through the frame. Jalen Gorham made a layup before Fadojutimi buried a trifecta. It was the first of four consecutive scores for lead changes. The streak was snapped by a layup by DiGrande who put the Purple Knights ahead 21-18. The score would be even at 31 before Brown beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to give the Purple Knights ahead 34-31 at the half.

Neither team shot well in the first half as the Ravens shot just 36.1/25.0/50.0 in the stanza while Saint Michael's converted on just 37.5% of their attempts. Moore led all scorers with ten points in the first half while DiGrande paced the Purple Knights with eight.

Moore opened the scoring in the second half with a layup then Bresnan put the crimson and grey ahead by making two of three from the charity stripe. This sparked a streak of five consecutive scores for lead changes that was ended by a Fadojutimi triple to give the Ravens a 43-39 edge. After a Guzman layup, Zegarowski buried a three-pointer to make the score 46-41. Saint Michael's answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 48. However, then the Ravens scored eight of the next 10 points to take their largest lead of the game 56-50.

Brown took over scoring seven straight points to give Saint Michael's a one-point lead with just under six minutes remaining. After a Seck layup and Brown jumper, Guzman buried a three-ball to give the Purple Knights their largest lead of the game 62-58 with four minutes to go. Following a Moore trifecta, Guzman got a steal and appeared to have an easy layup on the fast break but Fadojutimi flew in for the chase-down block, pinning Guzman's layup into the backboard. He then corralled the rebound and whipped the ball ahead to a wide-open Seck for a triple to put the Ravens in front. A Seck layup made it a two-possession game then Guzman banged home a layup to make it a two-point game with two minutes left which led to Brown hitting three from the stripe to put the Purple Knights in front. Moore and Guzman traded three-pointers setting the stage for van Oostrum.

While Saint Michael's outshot the Ravens 42.1% to 38.9% and were better from long range 40.9% to 31.4%, it was Franklin Pierce who dominated the boards and in the paint. The Ravens grabbed 17 offensive boards leading to 13 second-chance points while they outscored Saint Michael's 32 to 24 in the low post.

The crimson and grey look to keep it rolling when they host conference opponent Saint Anselm College (15-8, 11-5 NE10) the leaders of the NE10 Northeast Division for a key Senior Night matchup on Wednesday at the Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens ), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the men's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensMBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensmbb/).